


Wasteland Alone

by MotherOfFools



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:07:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29315319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MotherOfFools/pseuds/MotherOfFools
Summary: Nora lost her whole world when the bombs fell, and everything else when Kellog came into Vault 111. Now she's trying to regain what little she has left, with Paladin Danse by her side. A good friend, and a painful reminder of what she lost.
Relationships: Paladin Danse/Female Sole Survivor, Sole Survivor/Paladin Danse
Kudos: 3





	1. Motivation

Nora sighed, her head resting on her hands, watching her sponsor from across the Prydwyn cafeteria. Danse was so much like Nate it hurt. He had the same dark features, a strong jaw and stubbly chin. She always was a sucker for a man in uniform, a man with strong principles and dedication. Sometimes if she squinted she could almost believe he was Nate, but she always had to open her eyes eventually, and remember that Nate was gone.  
"Nora!" Haylen raised her voice, snapping her fingers right by the knight's ear. "Have you heard anything I've said?"  
"What? Oh god, I'm sorry Haylen. I was just...thinking..."  
"Clearly." the scribe chuckled, "And I suppose staring at the Paladin helps you think?"  
Nora blushed but put her hands down into her lap, looking down at her untouched food, "I was thinking about my husband, actually. Danse...Danse reminds me of him, in a lot of ways."  
"Aw, I didn't know you were married! Where is he?" Haylen perked up, excited to learn something new about her reserved friend. All she knew about Nora was that she came from a settlement called Sanctuary, and even then she wouldn't give any details about her life before, or even what Sanctuary is like.  
"He...He's been dead a long time. 10 years, give or take...It certainly doesn't feel like 10 years though."  
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have pried, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."  
"They were already there, you've done nothing wrong. I've lost my appetite though, you can have this." She pushes her plate towards the scribe and stands, giving only a small nod of farewell before heading down to the observatory.  
Looking out over Boston was heartbreaking, not a single thing remained the way it was. Her favorite restaurant, the library, the school Shaun would have gone to in a couple years, all reduced to nothing but rubble and decay. Historic landmarks, symbols of her great country's brave beginnings, are meaningless now. She could only imagine what had become of D.C, the nation's capitol would have been a priority target, surely.   
"Heartbreaking, isn't it?" Danse spoke behind her, startling her slightly. She turned on her heel and saluted, barely remembering to do it the Brotherhood way. "At ease, Knight. I come here to think, I do not mind having company while I do."  
"Yes, sir." She turned back around to look out the window, hoping beyond hope that somewhere in that mess, her son was safe.  
They stayed in quiet contemplation for a while, both consumed with their own agendas as they looked out at the Commonwealth. It was Danse who broke the silence between them.  
"What is your motivation, Knight? Something clearly drives you in this fight against the Institute. If you had a history with the Brotherhood, as I do, being taught the dangers of technology run amok for years, it would be easy to fight the Institute. But you? A civilian plucked off the street, to be so dedicated, so passionate about the fight? Clearly there's something else there."  
"If I tell you, I would prefer it be kept in discretion."  
"An unusual thing to say to your commanding officer, but...I'm listening."  
"I had a family. A husband and a son..." She took a steadying breath, her heart catching in her throat, "I was trapped, and forced to watch as...as...a mercenary killed my husband, and stole my baby. I was trapped for 10 years, Danse. When I finally got out, I did everything I could to hunt down the man that destroyed my family, and I killed him but...he had already sold my baby to the Institute." She looked over to him with watery eyes, barely keeping herself from breaking down crying.   
She hadn't expected to see him get out of his power armor, and was further surprised when he rushed over to hug her. That's when she broke, clinging to him as she sobbed into his shoulder.  
Danse rubbed a soothing hand on her back, giving her a chance to work through her emotions before speaking. "We'll find your boy, and if we're too late to save him, then I'll personally make sure we avenge him. They will pay for everything they've done."   
She sniffled and pulled back, wiping away her tears on the heel of her hand. "Thank you, Danse. I...I need to speak to Maxson. Would you please come with me?"  
"Of course." Danse climbed back into his power armor and followed her to Maxson's post at the bow of the ship.  
"Elder Maxson, I have a lead to help us get into the Institute."  
"What?! A lead? Explain yourself, Knight."   
She then recounted what she had gone through, finding Kellog, killing him and using the memory den to search his memories.  
"I believe this Dr. Virgil could be of great help, if we can find him alive in the Glowing Sea. They use teleportation to send their synths in and out, but this man managed to escape. It's the only lead we have to finding the bastards."  
"You would still be putting your trust into an Institute scientist. Never trust a traitor, Knight. But...you do have a point, this is the best lead we have at present. I want you to bring Paladin Danse with you, do whatever it takes to get the truth out of this Virgil, assuming he's even alive. You're both dismissed."


	2. The Glowing Sea

Nora and Danse had gotten a lift from a Vertibird to the edge of the Glowing Sea, and began their trek into the great and terrible unknown on foot. Ferals, radscorpions, and all manner of giant bugs tried to stop them, but they proved no match for their superior equipment. Eventually they found their way to an encampment full of radiation obsessed cultists.  
"Stop, unless you seek division. Tell me why you have invaded these holy grounds."  
"I'm looking for a man, a Dr. Brian Virgil."  
"I know this Virgil. What do you want of him?"  
"He is the only person in the Commonwealth who can answer my questions." Seeing that the Cult leader was unconvinced, she sighed. "Please, the people he worked for before coming here stole my son from me. I just want to find my son, but I need his help to do that."  
"Ah, I see. He lives in a cave just over that ridge there," She pointed past Nora's left shoulder. "We would not oppose you taking him away from this place, he is cause for concern for us."  
Nora didn't deign to give the woman a response, and instead went as fast as she was capable towards where the woman had pointed her to. As she neared the mouth of the cave she was attacked by a deathclaw. She hadn't noticed it in her hurry. Pinned down by the beast she was unable to get to her gun, and instead started to frantically punch and kick the monster. She couldn't die, not now, not when she was so close...  
Brilliant red laser fire made her eyes ache as the shots were mere inches from her visor, shooting off the beast's jaw. It recoiled away from her, roaring in agony as it turned its attention to Danse. A few more shots to the head and it crumbled down to the earth, it's skull mangled and burned, brains and viscera there for all to see.   
She forced herself up, still not entirely comfortable with maneuvering in power armor. Unlike Nate and Danse, she didn't get intensive training on how to use the blasted suit, and had instead gotten a quick rundown of controls from Ingram, who looked at her like she was stupid for even needing to ask.   
Danse helped pull her onto her feet, "That's why we stick together, Nora. No more running ahead, understand?"  
"Yes, sir...Thank you. I was just so focused on finding Virgil..."  
"I know, but you aren't any good to your son if you die out here. Now, let's go."  
With much greater care, they made their way to the cave, finding it heavily defended, but not actively putting them at any risk. Nora barely stifled a sharp gasp when she saw a super mutant standing their pointing a gun at her.   
"You've been sent to kill me, but I won't go down that easy, Kellog."  
"Kellog? I'm not...Here, hold on." She exited her power armor with a small grunt. "See? I'm not Kellog. I killed him, as a matter of fact."  
"A likely story..." The mutant huffed, with his gun still pointed at her.  
Nora reached down to the holster on her thigh, and grabbed the distinctive .44 magnum that she had taken from Kellog's body, and held it out to the mutant, despite Danse's protests.   
"That's...that's his gun. You really did kill him, didn't you?"  
"Yes. I am looking for a Dr. Virgil. Is he here?"  
The mutant laughed ruefully, "Yes, I'm here. Why do you want me?"  
"Kellog killed my husband, and gave my baby boy to the Institute. You were there, and you got out. I know they use teleportation, but I need to know how I can get in."  
"Oh...Oh I'm sorry. I understand your motivation, but it's suicide."  
"I don't care. Just tell me where they are, and how I get in."   
Virgil relented and began explaining the coursers, their relay chips, and what she'd need to do to find one.  
"Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate it. I'll be back, just you wait and see." She then climbed back into her power armor and left the cave.  
"He should be killed, he's an abomination!" Danse hissed out once they exited the cave.  
"It would be a mercy, perhaps, but we still need him. If you want to put him down after we've secure our way into the Institute, then by all means, but until we've gotten in and completed our mission, he's an asset."  
He sighed, "I know you're right, but it disgusts me to know that we're leaving an institute bastard alive, and a super mutant at that."  
"I couldn't care less if a mutant wants to isolate himself in the middle of the Glowing Sea, sue me."  
"What you?"  
"Nevermind."


	3. Personal Truths

When they returned to relative safety they signalled for a Vertibird and were given a ride back to the Prydwyn. Knight-Captain Cade insisted on doing a thorough examination and decontamination of Nora and Danse, even having their power armor sent to be scrubbed down.   
And so they sat on examination tables, wrapped in sheets with a privacy screen between them. Cade hooked them up to Rad-Away drips and gave them both some clean food and water.   
"I would like to keep you both here overnight, that was a long stretch you did in there, and even power armor can't protect you when you're standing in a nuclear blast crater. I shudder to think of the health of those cultists you told me about."  
"I understand, sir, but we need to continue on our mission!"  
"We can send someone else. You need to take care of yourself, and I'm sure your baby would miss you."  
"What?"  
"I just examined you, you think I can't tell that you recently had a baby?"  
Nora went silent, eyes wide. She hadn't cared to pay attention to her own body in this whole ordeal. She looked down at her stomach, and saw that her skin was still soft, the stretch marks still fresh. 210 years had passed, but for her body it had only been...5 months? 6?   
\---  
Danse sat in silent shock. She said it had been 10 years, yet Cade thought she just had a baby recently. Was there another child she wasn't telling him about? Did she have a baby for whoever was keeping her trapped? Did she lie about it being 10 years? This didn't make any sense.  
Eventually Cade left to room and it was just him and Nora. He didn't know what to say, if he even should say anything. Thankfully, Nora made the choice for him.  
"I guess you're probably pretty confused right now."  
"Yes, I am."  
"I was born in 2047. Shaun was 3 months old when the bombs fell. We barely made it to the vault in time, I saw the first bomb that hit Massachusetts as we were going down the elevator into the vault."  
"How are you still alive?"  
"They put us into these cryo-stasis pods, Nate was holding Shaun, I was across from them. They froze us, and we were there, frozen, unaware, unaging, for decades. Then Kellog came and...I couldn't get out of the pod, I was stuck watching as my husband was killed and my little boy was taken. Then they refroze me, saving me for later. Then the system failed or something, the pod opened and let me out. Everyone else had died, I don't know how I survived. Kellog's memories showed me that Shaun is 10 years old now, but because I was frozen, my body hasn't been able to fully heal from the pregnancy yet. Now you know my big secret...I'm 240 years old."  
"My god...Well that explains the discrepancy at least. I can't imagine how all this must be affecting you."   
"I'm still grieving my whole world, and everyone I knew. But even more than that, I'm lonely. The only people who know what I know, who have even remotely similar life experiences, are ghouls. I try to see past the appearance and not be too harsh in my judgement, but...they disgust me. Their rotted flesh, the sunken, void eyes." She shudders, "They may have memories of the world before, but they aren't human. I have found some friends, human beings that are sympathetic and kind, but you all may as well be from a different planet for how different our life experiences are."  
"I understand. Do you... consider me one of those friends?"  
"I do, actually. This is going to sound silly but, you're a great comfort to me. You remind me of Nate. Being with you is the closest thing to normal that I've had this whole time. He was a soldier, he fought in Anchorage and was one of the first troops to use power armor. He was so proud of his country, of his service. He got me pregnant while on leave, and had just been honorably discharged to be with us a month before the bombs fell. I was still getting used to have him home, safe, raising our son together when...when it all fell apart. Being with you, it makes me think of how things could have been, if I had enlisted too, if we had been in the same troop, fighting side by side, watching eachother's backs."  
"Well, you make a damn fine soldier now. You're probably the bravest person I know, going through what you have and still wading boldly into the fray. I already admired your strength as a civilian adapting to our life, but knowing all this? Your life, your loss? A lesser woman would have crawed into the bottom of a bottle and died there."  
\---------  
Nora was barely keeping her composure, grateful for the privacy screen as she pressed her hands to her eyes to try and stem the flow of tears threatening to overwhelm her. He had no way of knowing that she had already started down that path before. When she came out of the vault the shock and despair had been too much, she rummaged through all the homes in her neighborhood for anything she could find to numb the pain. It wasn't until Trashcan Carla had happened by and mentioned Diamond City that she had any hope of there being others out there, civilization in some capacity. Codsworth had mentioned going to Concord, but he had also tried to convince her to play charades and garden with him, so she didn't put much weight into his suggestion. But a human? A merchant with goods and currency and a city to go to and trade in? That's what pulled her out of her slump, she gave Carla everything of value she had to get escorted to Diamond City. She didn't have much use for her and Nate's gold wedding bands in a post apocalypse.  
Once she got to Diamond City she had done everything she could, followed every lead, but there was no way she could get into the Glowing Sea by herself. But the Brotherhood of Steel? They could fly, they had power armor, they had superior weapons. Now here she was, a member of that Brotherhood, and 1 step closer to finding her son, and this wonderful man thought that she was the brave and noble one? She would've joined the Institute if it meant getting her baby back, that's just not how things played out.   
"You're wrong about me, Danse. I'm not brave, I'm desperate. I'm desperate, and alone."  
"You're not alone. I can't change how you see yourself, but you should at least know that. I'm here for you, the Brotherhood is exactly that, a brotherhood. You may not have the life you thought you would, or the life you wanted, but at least you are alive. You can find a new life here. After we've found your son, and destroyed the Institute, you can take all the time you need to grieve, and to adapt to your new life. I'll be here with you every step of the way, if you want me to be."  
"Thank you Danse. That means a lot. I wish I could hug you, but I'm naked, and the Knight-Captain is going to be back any minute."  
"I'll take you up on it later then. Maybe over a beer? Or a cola if you prefer."  
She chuckled softly, "It's a date."


End file.
